What You Need

Sci-Fi/cult series like "The Twilight Zone" (but also others, like "Tales of the Unexpected" or "Tales from the Crypt") always root for the underdog and show no mercy for selfish or obnoxious characters. Modest, introvert and meek characters will be victorious at the end of the ride most of the time, whereas the arrogant ones die a merciless death. Sounds rather logical perhaps, but it's nevertheless a trademark and one that is marvelously illustrated in the "What you need" episode. The plot introduces two-time loser and insignificant swindler Fred Renard, who's sitting in a bar when a street vendor named Pedott comes walking in. Pedott is a kind, gentle and unobtrusive man with a remarkable gift… He knows exactly what his customers need and persuades them to buy things moments before the goods become incredibly useful to them. Fred Renard immediately notices Pedott's unique gift and extorts the poor man into using it to make him rich really fast. His plan initially works quite well, but Renard gets too greedy too quick and his plan backfires. "What you need" is a powerful but obviously very implausible episode. Accepting that Pedott has this unique gift of clairvoyance is one thing, but believing that he never used it for his own benefit and exclusively strives to offer small bits of happiness to complete strangers is an entirely different story… In fact, the Fred Renard character is much more realistic and identifiable, since he wants to make money out of it and – let's be honest – that's what we all would do. Admittedly his methods aren't very nice and thus the twilight zone karma punishes him. "What you need" is low on suspense and surprises, but the contrast between the two protagonists and the fantastic acting performances of both Steve Cochran and Ernest Truex make it more than worthwhile. With a bit of imagination, it's a supernatural variant on the David & Goliath story, and a damn fine I may add.

I have always enjoyed this episode. People over analyze it. The "bad guy" is just that. There are bad people and given a situation where they can take, will do so. This is not a religious allegory. This is about a situation where we must suspend our disbelief (as we often do in The Twilight Zone) and accept the gifts the man has. Why do people automatically believe that a writer needs to put a religious spin on it. If you want to put a spin on it, it is more fairy tale (The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg and The Fisherman's Wife). These people are dissatisfied with what they have and try to destroy the source of their gifts. It is really about Kismet, not theology.

This episode works well because it has a magical quality and some great characters. We create our destinies, and the supernatural aside, the man went too far.

Ernest Truex plays a street peddler named Pedott who has the uncanny ability to know exactly what a customer will need that day, which may give them a second chance, or save their life. Steve Cochran plays a thuggish man named Fred Renard, who discovers this ability, and bullies Pedott into repeatedly giving him what he needs to succeed, like winning at the racetrack, but what the mean-spirited Renard doesn't realize is that he can only go to this well so often, until Pedott decides to use what he needs to get away from Renard... Entertaining tale is no classic but builds nicely to a most amusing ending, and wry summation by Pedott.

Everything about this episode was appealing. The actors played their characters exceptionally well.. The script was very good and flowed naturally. The plot and story line was quite interesting and kept my attention. The character Fred Renard was truly scary while the character of Pedott was truly loveable. What a great contrast and the way these two characters were brought together made the plot more exciting. A great story that made complete sense unlike most of the series episodes.

A lot of the action in this tale takes place in a bar that looks almost identical to the drinking establishment from previous episode 'And When The Sky Was Opened', but the two stories couldn't be more different: the earlier tale worked well because its audience knew full well what fate was going to befall its characters, whereas 'What You Need' keeps the viewer guessing with a classic twist ending.

In addition to delivering a terrific 'traditional' Twilight Zone conclusion, this episode also boasts one of my favourite performances of the season so far: Steve Cochran as churlish loser Fred Renard, who harasses kindly street peddler Pedott (Ernest Truex) after he realises that the old man can see into the future and provide people with precisely 'what they need'. Cochran is truly menacing—I'm not at all surprised to find that he originally found fame as a heavy in gangster films, including a role in Cagney classic White Heat.